Saunders’ Fourth-Place Finish Highlights Opening Weekend

Cornelius Saunders.

Nov 20, 2011

Team Starts Season at Garret Open

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Sophomore Cornelius Saunders' fourth-place finish in epee highlighted the opening weekend of competition for the Yale men's fencing team at Penn State's Garret Open. En route to the fourth-place finish Saunders topped one of the best fencers in the country, Notre Dame's James Kaull, 15-7.

Yale's epee squad also got a top-16 finish from sophomore Benjamin Mappin-Kasirer, who went 4-1 in his final pool before the direct elimination match.

"It was great to see these two sophomores step up, and they showed just how good our epee team can be," said senior Shiv Kachru, Yale's captain.

The Bulldogs are now off until the Brandeis Invitational Dec. 4.

"The tournament was filled with some of the best fencers in the country," Kachru said. "But, as this was the first event of the year, I think our team learned a lot from it. I think we got our jitters out of the way and we will be better prepared for the future, especially for the Ivy League Championships."